Chapter 7 - The Isle

         
VI
The Isle
 
            Zuko woke late the next day and was surprised to find the ship had slowed to a stop.  His head pounded and everything else seemed worse, but he forced him self out of bed and into his cloths.
            When he finally staggered up on deck he found both his uncle and Hagi waiting for him. 
“I see you are awake Nephew.” Uncle Iroh said turning to greet him, “that is good.  I sent the sailors out to find a healer early this morning.  We are on Kameko, have been for some time.”
            “And you let me sleep?”                                          
            “You need your rest.” Hagi replied calmly, “and it was less than five minutes ago word came back that a healer had been found.  You were better off in bed.”
            “This healer,” Zuko asked, “he is reliable?”
            “She is among the best.” Uncle Iroh replied a mysterious smile on his face.  “Come, the Rhinos are saddled we will meet the others half way . . . that is if you can stay in the saddle.”
            “Of COURSE I can!”   Truth was it was a struggle for him to even get mounted.  Not since early childhood could he ever remember feeling this terrible.  And having forced himself out of bed only made the situation worse.  Even the gentle swaying of the Rhino’s gait sent a jerk though his head.  Every breath sent sharp pain through his chest, and to top it all he was cold, Zuko had never truly been cold, with the possible exception of that brief venture in the ice water at the North Pole, he was a fire bender.  You get cold you do a bit of bending and warm your self up.  But the little bending he could manage with his trouble breathing didn’t seem to work.  And so it was that Zuko, who would be furious by now if he could make himself bare to think enough to be angry, hung on as tight as he could to his Rhino’s harness; and prayed that he wouldn’t fall off and disgrace himself in front of the men.
 
It was some time before they met up with the two men Uncle Iroh had sent ahead.  In fact they were nearly at the town.  Kameko shared its name with the island, and it seemed as though the entire place was decked out for celebration.  It was Zuko recalled. Tomorrow the Ceremony of the Tortoise, or the Feast of Lights, would begin.  Each year after the snow melted and as the giant tortoises the island was know for returned, the island people would throw a great feast and dance, a ceremony that lasted for nine days, in honor of the great animal.  There was a story that went along with it, but in his current mood Zuko wasn’t even going to try remembering.
            They had just come into sight of the town when the two scouts stepped into the open accompanied by a short graying woman who was getting on in years.  Zuko knew that face, but he couldn’t place it.  It was a face he knew he had loved, who had loved him and cared for him as his uncle did.  But try as he might he simply could not remember.
 
            Vaguely he realized he was being helped off the Rhino.  That he had needed help.  He was cold, but his throat felt like it was on fire!  Seconds later a cool hand was resting against his face and a worried voice, a woman’s voice, one he knew well, was exclaiming that he was burning up.  They had to get him into her house before it was too late.  Arms were supporting him as they walked, and more and more he needed their support.  Some where along the road he blacked out.
 
            He was freezing when he awoke, though he knew he shouldn’t be.  He was covered with blankets but still cold.  His head was groggy and he could hardly concentrate, but he heard that voice again as well as his uncle’s and so he tried to listen.
             “. . . been poisoned.”
            “What?”
            “Vierus, don’t know how it could have progressed this fast except . . . Has he had any wine in the past few days?”
            “Yes.” Zuko choked forcing himself to sit up.  The woman’s hand pushed him back down again.
            “But you weren’t the only one to drink, nephew how could . . .”
            “He poured.” Zuko coughed, “the powder must have been in the cup. . .”
            “Can you do anything . . .” the healer stepped in to the light and Zuko remembered.
 
            Her scream echoed down the hall as he rushed out of the room. She was being dragged across the floor by two of the empirical guard.  Infuriated Zuko rushed forward.[/i]
            “Let her go! I command that you release her!”[/i]
            “I’m sorry my prince,” One of the guards started, “but the orders for her arrest come from the Fire Lord himself.”[/i]
 [/i]
            “Mistress Kiata?”
            She held up a hand for him to be quiet, but smiled slightly.   “The cure will take time to put together. Time I’m afraid we don’t have, if the fever doesn’t break soon he will die, but I will do what I can . . .” Zuko drifted off again his old nurse’s voice lulling him to sleep.  As his eyes slid closed he barely heard the last few word she said. “. . . I would welcome your help master Hagi.  certain herbs must be picked fresh . . . he will be in good hands Iroh, until we get back.  In the mean time my apprentice will get you some tea, I believe you like ginseng?”
 
***
 
            His dreams were dark.  Full of past memories strange beings and fire.  Because of the fever he supposed as he slowly shifted towards consciousness.  There was a strange voice speaking, to him Zuko thought, but what it was saying he couldn’t tell.  It was lovely to listen to.  Melodious like a ringing bell, calm, but it sounded sad.  As Zuko slowly woke to this sound he kept his eyes closed, afraid that if he opened them the voice and whomever it belonged to would disappear.  He was still cold, still in pain and his head still pounded.  This was enough to tell him that he wasn’t dead, not yet; in fact he wasn’t feeling better at all, only worse.  But there was that voice.
Was he hallucinating?  He hoped not.  Zuko concentrated.  Trying to keep the sound in his mind, and the more he concentrated the more he fancied it was still there, the more he fancied it was talking to him. Gradually he began to understand the words.
 
            “I don’t understand you . . . running around the world letting the war continue.  Why don’t you go home?  You could have stopped all this, but No.  The Almightily Fire Lord[/i] has full reign to do what ever he pleases.  You’re old enough.  You could have done something.
            “The taxes are increasing incredibly every month.  The same for the poor as well as the rich.  What farmer can afford this?  For a well to do merchant perhaps it is only a tithe, but the rest of us?  The tax is over half what we make.  And they’re taxing people who don’t even live in the fire nation!  You even grumble and you’re locked up . . . in fact do one thing wrong even if it’s just something they don’t like,  sell the wrong books, advertise a product they don’t approve of, and they lock you up . . .and then there’s the war . . .
            “The war?  What’s so good about the war, we loose more than we gain, our men go off and never return, families are ripped apart, and still it continues?  I’m sick of it!”
 
There were tears in the voice and as she went on as Zuko listened, he truly saw what it was like for his people.  In the beginning he’d only been worried for the soldiers, the wasted lives, and now . . . it was worse that he could ever have imagined.  Raising taxes, unjust laws . . . but she was still talking.
 
“and you . . . you could have done something about all of this . . . even a prince has some power, you could have issued decrees, given orders,  made requests in favor of your people, something . . .anything at all.  Even if you didn’t have full command, you could have curried favor from your father, One request would be all it took to take care of some things, but no . . . you had to go and leave . . . l eave your people to this tyranny, and you . . . you . . . light you’re dying, you cant do anything now . . . and even if you could you’re asleep . . . I don’t know why I bother, you probably wouldn’t even listen to me if you were awake.”
 
“You’re wrong . . .” Zuko said struggling to sit up.  His voice was extremely hoarse and it was all he could do just to push him self higher up on the pillow.  “I have been listening to you for the past ten minutes.”  He could see the speaker now.  A short slim girl not much younger then himself, obviously the apprentice.  Her hair was pulled back out if her face and in the poor lighting of the room (a candle or two) he couldn’t make out its color, but her gray eyes appeared startled and they had a rather shocked look about them.       
The girl gave him one frightened look and fled the room muttering something about him needing some water or some such.
Zuko was left to himself, though he didn’t much mind.  He had been given quite a bit to think about.
 
 

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